Background
Howard was born December 11, 1847 to Flodoardo R. Howard and Lydia Maria (Robertson) Howard, in Brookeville, Maryland. His mother was a descendant of Quakers, and his father"s family had ancestral ties to the Howard family of England, including the likes of Catherine Howard. When Howard was three his father moved the family to Washington, District of Columbia, where he purchased a plot of land directly across from Ford"s Theatre and established a medical office.
Although his father was tied to the Howard family of England, his relations with the mainland quickly deteriorated.
Education
As a child he attended Brookeville Academy, an institution founded in 1808 by his ancestors. He graduated from Georgetown University, founded by his father, with his doctorate of medicine in 1865.
Career
Early Today the site is occupied by Washington"s largest department store. Professional Medicine
During the Civil War, Robertson, being a Quaker, refused to join either side. However, being only eighteen years old, he was considered too young to begin his practice.
While there he shared Room 47, West Range with James Benjamin Sclater Junior., with whom he and four other men founded Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity on March 1, 1868.
This would become the first fraternity in the United States. Howard would remain close friends with these men for the rest of his lifeit is said that Howard kept autographed photographs of his fellow co-Founders in his possession throughout his lifetime.
After leaving Georgetown, he worked for some time in the medical department of the National Museum, now the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Institution. Law
After losing interest in medicine, Howard returned to Georgetown University to receive a Bachelor of Law degree in 1874.
As a lawyer he handled western land claims, one of which led him to moving his family to Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1881.
Howard died suddenly at age 52 on December 1, 1899. His body was taken back to Washington, District of Columbia for burial in the Congressional Cemetery. His grave was unmarked for years until his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity furnished a bronze plaque in his memory.
Membership
Pi Kappa Alpha]
After completing his post-graduate work at the University of Virginia, Howard was for two years a member of the medical faculty of Georgetown University, where he received an honorary Master of Arts.
